


A chocolate proposal

by la_femme_brulee



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Scotland
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:42:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28183356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/la_femme_brulee/pseuds/la_femme_brulee
Summary: It's been two years since your study year abroad in Japan, where you met Tendou Satori, a wide eyed, red haired college volleyball player. It is his first time visiting you in the UK and you are determined to make it magical. You decide to take him to the Edinburgh Christmas Markets, where you hope to make more precious memories with the man you love the most.Tendou Satori X Female ReaderEntry For Yagami Yatos Christmas Writing EventDiscord ID: ThighKoraRey#5307
Kudos: 6
Collections: Yagami Yato Fanfic Event: December 2020





	A chocolate proposal

You stood, smiling at the over excited man in front of you practically bouncing with elation. 

“Come onnnnn your name I want to go!”

“Ok, ok I’m almost done!” 

You continued tucking him into a down jacket, hat and scarf, before carefully pulling his still bandaged fingers into a pair of gloves. 

“Ahhhh it’s so hot” the redhead complained “and this hat is squishing my hair”

“We’re leaving” you smile, bustling him out the front door of the hotel into the brisk night air. 

As you stood waiting for the taxi, you watched as Tendou blew puffs of steamy air out of his mouth into the cold. Your mouth curved upwards a little as you watched him, his excitement was contagious, and even though this was nothing new to you, it might as well have been. His excitement was like a bubbling cauldron: anyone too near would get caught in the flood of elation and happiness streaming towards them.   
He caught you watching and a red blush creeps across his already cold flushed cheeks. For a brief second he frowned, as if considering something very important, and then abruptly turned towards you and began to bounce and rock on his heels. 

“Y/NNNN, how much longerrrr, you promised me Christmas lights!”. 

“I know I know, the taxi is almost here I promise”. 

A small huff is directed at you and he pouts. 

“Honestly”, you chastised gently, “It’s like you’re a little kid, calm yourself”. 

Another huff. You chuckled at him. 

“That doesn’t really have the desired effect when you look like a woolly snowball”.

He crossed his arms and turned away from you, jutting his bottom lip out. He wasn’t really upset, his eyes were still sparking with anticipation as he tried to stay still.   
Luckily for him, the taxi pulled up at that moment, and you grabbed one gloved hand and pulled him into the vehicle. 

“The Christmas Market please” you requested the driver, and the car pulled away. 

As the car sped you along through the streets, you watched Tendou stared transfixed out of the window, trying to absorb everything he was seeing all at once. You were so happy that he had managed to come here to visit you, when you had met it had seemed like such a far away dream. Your year abroad in Japan had been the most memorable year of your life, and your chance meeting with the slightly eccentric volleyball player had given it a special place engraved into your heart.   
It had been a few months into the semester, and you had taken to studying in the gym after school before practice started. You usually cleared out before anyone arrived, but on this particular day you had fallen asleep. You had awoken to frantic whispers in Japanese that you were not yet fluent enough to understand apart from a couple of phrases.   
“What do we do”   
“She’s sleeping”   
When you had opened your eyes, you had been met with four pairs staring back at you. There was a brief pause where everyone had processed the situation and then all hell had broken loose.   
Three of the boys had immediately started bowing and apologizing, whilst the fourth, a pale slender boy with spiky red hair and wide eyes had continued to stare at you, half curious, half startled, until the most muscular of the quartet had forced his head into a bow.   
After much assurance that you weren’t mad or upset, they had settled down. You had asked in broken Japanese if you could stay and study whilst they practiced. They had looked a little surprised, but agreed.   
After practice was over, you had begun clearing up the flurry of paper and flashcards that now surrounded where you lay on the stage. Out of the corner of your eye you saw the redhead stumble a little in your direction, then turn furiously behind him to glare at something. When he turned back and met your confused gaze he flinched and looked away. You had tilted your head at him and smiled softly, trying to reassure him it was fine to talk to you. When he realised that you weren’t going to avert your eyes, he had walked over, starting pointedly at the ground, and started to help you gather your papers. 

“Oh, um, arigato” you said, a little surprised. 

As he handed you the pile of papers he collected, he looked up at you for the first time, then quickly looked down again. 

“Um, my name is Tendou Satori, nice to meet you” he said slowly. 

“Nice to meet you Tendou-san, my name is Y/N, but everyone calls me ‘Y/N-chan’ because I’m English and my name is difficult to pronounce”. 

“Ahhhhh!” he exclaimed in excitement, taking you by surprise he followed up with a very fast sentence of which you only caught a few words “English”, “Awesome” and “Really awesome”. Then he seemed to realize his outburst and immediately clammed up, placed the papers on your bag, and practically sprinted off, leaving you slightly nonplussed. 

On your way out the door, you heard a call of “wait a second”. 

You paused, to see the largest of the team, the same one that had forced Tendou into an apology bow earlier jogging towards you. 

“Um, why were you studying here? Isn’t the library better?’ 

“Oh, um, because I like….” you frowned trying to think of a word that would convey what you meant.   
With a huff of frustration you pulled out your phone and typed what you were trying to say into translate. 

“Because I like the atmosphere here more” you read slowly. 

“I see” replied the boy. 

He held out his hand, requesting your phone. Surprised, you handed it over and watched as he typed something in. 

“You can study here any time. Even when we practice” he told you in disjointed English, reading from the phone. 

“Arigato gozaimasu!” you grinned. 

He handed your phone back and told you his name “Ushijima” 

You also repeated your introduction and explanation of your nickname. 

“See you tomorrow” you had called out as you jogged off towards the school exit. 

After that it had become a regular occurrence for the volleyball boys to practice while you studied, you became adept at dodging stray balls and flinging them back towards the court. Over the weeks you began interacting with the boys more, learning their names as they taught you about the rules and techniques of the game. Since your first meeting, you had caught Tendou starting at you curiously with wide eyes, but he always flinched when you met his gaze and looked away immediately. You figured he just wasn’t that interested in being friends, which was strange seeing as he was the first to introduce himself, and you worried your presence was bothering him. You made up your mind to ask him the next day before practice, vowing to find another spot to study if you were bothering him. It saddened you slightly, as you had grown fond of watching his over exaggerated interactions with the team, and would be sad if you never got to see his red hair or curious eyes again. 

Before that had happened though, an altercation the next day had shed some light on why he had been so hesitant to talk to you. It was just before practice, and Tendou had gone missing. He usually showed up to help put up the equipment and warm up, but he was nowhere to be found. One of the other boys, Semi, had gone to look for him, and you had offered to accompany him, you were worried about him, plus your legs were cramping from sitting on the floor so long. You walked through the corridors, and as you approached his home room you heard voices coming from inside. 

“This is why no one like you, Tendou, you're weird!” 

“You even look weird! You look like a monster!” 

“Pervert, why do you have something like this in your desk”. 

You peered around the door, to see Tendou surrounded by three girls, staring at the floor. His face was red and he was biting his lip, he looked scared.   
Suddenly, you were furious. How dare they. They had no idea what he was really like. And you were in college for crying out loud, surely everyone should have figured out that bullying didn’t make you cool. Apparently not.   
You took a step forward gripping the door, ready to fling it all the way open. But Semi grabbed your hand, stopping you. 

“Stop, he gets really mad when we interfere. It makes it worse”. 

You snatched your hand back. 

“Has a girl ever interfered before?” you hissed. 

Semi shook his head. 

“That's what I thought”. 

One of the girls laughed. 

“You’ll never get a girlfriend, Tendou!” 

“Virgin!”

You slammed the door open, and immediately the three girls turned their gaze to you. 

“And who are you?” 

You stomped towards them, glaring, they backed off slightly, leaving you space to stomp up to Tendou. He flinched as reached out to grab his hand, pulling him upright from the windowsill. You gently grabbed his face in your hand to force him to look at you, and kissed him. 

“Wha-?” one of the girls stuttered. 

You whirled around, and snatched what appeared to be a swimsuit magazine from her hand.

“This is mine”. 

And with that, you stalked out of the room, pulling Tendou with you past a dumbstruck Semi. 

“Wait, Y/N!” he called “Wait a second”. 

You continued your angry stomp towards the gym. 

You blew into the gym like an angry hurricane, and all the boys sitting there started and then took a step backwards. You took a deep calming breath and started frantically bowing to Tendou.   
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m truly sorry! I was angry, I’m an idiot! I’m sorry”. 

You looked at him to find him blushing furiously. Whilst four pairs of eyes looked between you, trying to figure out what just happened. A breathless Semi fell through the doorway. 

“Holy SHIT Y/N what was that?! - That was awesome, you should have seen their faces!” 

At that, Tendou snatched his hand back, you looked at him, startled at his sudden violent movement. 

“Why would you do that?!, I know no one likes me and that I look weird but why would YOU make fun of me like that?!” 

“Told you” said Semi. 

“I wasn’t making fun of you” you stated bluntly “and I don’t think you look weird”. 

“LIAR!” 

“What the heck is going on?” Ushijima asked, utterly lost. 

“Tendou got cornered by those girls again, accusing him of keeping a dirty magazine in his bag. Y/N saw red and went in there, kissed him, and then snatched the magazine from the girls, claiming it was hers!” 

“No way!” the boys started whooping and slapping each other. “Your first kiss- nice going man!” 

“Shut it!” You yelled “You’re not helping!”. 

You turned back to the redhead, who was again staring at the floor, his face bright red, his eyes were shining, he looked like he was about to cry. You took his hand, but he snatched it away again. You sighed, glaring at the rest of the team. 

“I’m not lying, Tendou” you said softly. 

“Prove it then!” his voice broke slightly. 

“Fine, close your eyes, stand there, and don’t move”. Thankfully he followed your instructions. You felt the five other pairs of eyes on you as you picked up your bag, and stalked back over to where Tendou was standing. His eyes still closed, you gently placed your hand on his face, and brushed your thumb across his cheek. You leaned in, and gave him a soft kiss. Your heart broke as a small tear formed at the corner of his still shut eyes. 

“Actually you know what, sorry guys you’re going to have to practice without him today”. 

You could see that Tendou was clearly about to lose it, and didn’t want him to suffer the shame of bursting into tears in front of his teammates. You grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door, before the rest of the team could recover from their shock. You ran, pulling him along till you were back in one of the deserted classrooms. You bent over, huffing as you caught your breath. You turned to him, and found him hiding his face with his arm, but you could see the droplets falling from his chin as they ran down his cheeks. You gently moved his arm away from his face, and he tried to turn away. Catching him, you slowly lowered him till he was kneeling in front of you. 

“It’s ok, I would never make fun of you, and I don’t think you look weird, I would never do that to someone, especially someone I want to know more”. 

With that, Tendou collapsed against you, and bawled. What must have been years of misunderstanding, hurt and sadness all came tumbling out in a mess of tears and hiccuping breaths. Once he had cried himself out, you had silently walked home with him, gently leading him by holding two of his fingers. 

After that incident you had gravitated to one another. You had never spoken of what happened, there was a silent understanding between you, but the redhead started appearing earlier before practice and would sit close to you and help you study. He talked with you, telling you about his hometown, his family, and his day of lectures and homework. When you saw him alone in the hallway, you would gently grab his sleeve and walk with him so he wasn’t alone. 

At the end of the year drew near, you were sitting in your usual spot in the gym, with Tendou leaning against you. Tendou had been particularly quiet, and you could tell something was on his mind, but you hadn’t pressed it. 

“Y/N?” he said quietly 

“Yes?” 

Back then you had made an effort not to use noises to acknowledge him. You figured after years of bullying and self loathing, that having someone face him openly and honestly helped him feel noticed and appreciated. 

“Do you like me?” 

“Yes” you replied simply. 

You never gave vague answers or teased him either, for the same reasons. You didn’t know when the glass vessel of confidence that he’d slowly built over the last few months could shatter. 

He paused, and took a deep breath in, as if he was steeling himself. He looked directly at you, a rarity during those first few months. 

“Will you be my girlfriend?” 

You smiled a sunny smile at him as you nodded and replied “Yes”. 

That was almost two years ago, which brought you here, the winter after graduation, and Tendou’s first time coming to visit you in your home country. You had picked the Scottish City of Edinburgh for his first trip, knowing he would be enchanted by the Christmas markets and glowing lights. You sighed, swimming in your contentment, simply basking in the happiness that Tendou's presence alone brought you. 

“y/n…. Y/N”. 

Your reminiscing was interrupted by Tendou gently shaking your arm. You could see glowing lights approaching at the end of the road. 

“Ok, close your eyes, Satori” 

“Uurrrmmmmmnnnnn” he grumbled, obliging. 

The taxi pulled up, and you clambered out, handing the driver the fare and tip.

“No peeking” you warned the bouncing figure in the car “I’ll know”. 

You walked around and helped him out of the car, and placed your hands over his eyes. 

“Ok, guess monster, let’s go”. 

You guided him to the top of the stairs leading down into Edinburgh’s main park. 

“Keep your eyes closed” you said as you removed your hands from his eyes, before moving to stand next to him. 

“Ok open them”. 

His eyes sprang open, growing wider than usual as a look of unbridled joy crossed his face, and you grinned. Below you were rows and rows of small wooden sheds, each converted into a stall or shop, offering everything from handmade jewelry to crepes. People were strolling, hand in hand with their loved ones, smiling at their families, and just like Tendou now was, reveling in the magic of it all. The glow from the string lights running between the shops made a tunnel of light reflected in his irises, making their excited sparkle golden. 

“Aaaahh so pretty!” he exclaimed! 

He grabbed your hand and started down the steps, and you followed, content to let him pull you along as he began to walk from stall to stall, eyes wide. He was like a puppy, going in all directions, trying to see everything all at once, as soon as he saw something he liked, something else would catch his eye. 

You walked for hours through the market, thoroughly investigating each shop for goodies. You had to reign your ecstatic boyfriend in, and talk him down from buying everything. You suggested you see everything and then come back if there was something you wanted when you reached the end. Fortunately that seemed to satisfy him, and you breathed a sigh of relief. You didn’t want to be responsible for him making himself broke in one night.   
Finally you reached the end of the shops, maybe now he would let you stop and find food. 

“Are you hungry?” you asked, rolling a ring you were considering buying across your fingers. 

“Hmmmm, only if it's chocolate”.

“You can’t eat chocolate for every meal you know, let's find something more like a meal, we’ll get chocolate later”.

You considered the selection of foods you’d seen as you were walking around and frowned. 

“Although, it’s not like anything here is particularly healthy…. but we should find something that you haven’t had before. Maybe something like Haggis….No, that’s definitely out there in terms of food, I like it but it's definitely not to everyone's tastes… French?... Didn’t see any of that though… German might be a good choice…” 

“Ummmm Y/N?” 

“AH! I got it! This way!” 

You grabbed Tendou's’ hand, and set off towards the food. 

“Man, I'm hungry!” you exclaimed, as you pulled him along. 

“What are we going to eat?” came the question from behind you. 

“This!”. 

You abruptly came to a stop in front of a stand selling huge doughy pretzels with a variety of dips. 

“Pretzel” Tendou said slowly, rolling the unfamiliar work off his tongue for the first time. 

You took a step forward, but Tendou put out a hand to stop you. You looked at him questioningly. 

“I want to order” he smiled. 

“Oh ok, sure” you smiled back “in that case I recommend getting a plain pretzel, and mustard, cheese dips, oh and you wanted chocolate right? Get a chocolate dip too”. 

The redhead nodded, and turned to the stand, and repeated what you had just suggested to the cashier. When he turned back around he looked pleased with himself. Your heart fluttered a bit with pride. Most of your conversations were held in Japanese: despite your protests, Tendou had insisted on speaking in Japanese for your sake, claiming it was a more difficult language to master. As a result his English skills had been slower to improve, but you suspected he had been practicing in secret. 

“Your English has really improved Tendou!”.

He blushed at the compliment and twisted his fingers together. 

“I was practicing a lot before I came here” he mumbled into his jacket. 

You grinned, you had been right. 

“Well it definitely paid off, you aced ordering that food! Wait here, we’re going to have to take our gloves off to eat, I’ll go get us a drink to keep us warm”. 

You trotted off to search for drinks. You knew Tendou liked hot chocolate, but mulled wine was something he definitely had to try while he was here. You looked at the menu carefully, and spotted the perfect drink. 

“Ok lets go sit down in the picnic tent, they have some heaters so it isn’t as cold”. 

You found a table and sat down. You demonstrated to Tendou that to eat a pretzel you break off a piece, and then dip it in whatever you wanted. You told him about the history of pretzels and how they were traditionally eaten as a savory food, and that the chocolate dip was something not traditional, but delicious nonetheless. 

Tendou pointed to the drinks. 

“What did you get?” 

You pointed to the two 12oz cups. 

“This one is hazelnut hot chocolate, and this one is black forest hot chocolate”. 

“Black.. Forest?” Tendou tilted his head curiously. 

“It is actually traditionally a kind of dark chocolate cake made with fruit like cherries and blackberries. I think it is called that because the berries make the cake darker and richer, it’s really delicious, and I thought we should try it”. 

Tendou took the cup and cautiously took a sip, and his eyes widened. 

“Ah, it’s delicious! English people really know how to make sweet things taste good! I’m going to try making chocolate like this in my shop back in Japan!” 

“You got some cream on your face silly, come here”. 

You reached out and gently wiped away the cream at the corner of his lips. He looked at you and slowly turned a bright shade of red. 

You smiled. 

“You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed”. 

He blushed harder. He was so easy to mess with. 

You leaned over the table slightly and brought your mouth close to his ear. 

“Would you like it if you were naked, and I used my mouth instead? I’m sure whipped cream would taste even sweeter if it were on your skin”. 

A rough yelp escaped from his mouth, and you leaned back in your chair, laughing, nonchalantly stretching out as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile you could positively see the steam rising from Tendou’s face as he turned almost as red as his hair.

“Ahhh you’re just too easy to mess with, you almost make me feel mean. I’ll stop, no more, I promise”. 

You took a sip of your drink, as Tendou looked at you from under his eyelashes. 

“I think I’d like that”. 

“Ack!” you spluttered, inhaling the hot chocolate in surprise. You coughed and took another gulp to try and stop the coughing fit. 

“Ahem, anyway”. 

Tendou laughed, seemingly having recovered from his embarrassment. 

“What’s in the last cup, Y/N?” 

“Mulled Wine”. 

You reached for the cup, grateful you were saved from further embarrassment. 

“Mulled Wine is red wine, cooked with spices and sometimes dried orange peel. If I remember right the main spices are cinnamon, cloves, all-spice and nutmeg, there are others too but they’re not used as often. It’s a very traditional Christmas drink.” 

“Alcohol? He questioned. 

“Yeah, that’s why I only got us a little to try” you smiled. 

You passed him the cup. 

“Here, try it, see what you think”. 

He sniffed it suspiciously, before taking a sip. 

“Ooooo! It’s sweet, but not in a sickly way, it’s so ummmm...cozy! He exclaimed, using one of the English words you taught him when he had first been in one of the many small cafes in Edinburgh tucked away out of sight. 

You sat in a comfortable silence, finishing the food and watching the activity around you. Eventually, Tendou started to get restless, fidgeting with his fingers and gloves. 

“Do you want to go look at the light garden?” you asked “it’s the only thing we haven’t seen”. 

“There’s something I want to do first, wait here” 

“Oh, ok sure” 

Tendou got up, tripping slightly on the chair. You frowned, he wasn’t usually this easily flustered. Maybe the wine had gone to his head. 

“Are you ok?” 

“Ah, um, I’m fine!” he turned and walked quickly towards the exit. 

Hmmmm, you mused. Something was definitely up, but you didn’t want to press it. You decided to keep an eye on him after he got back. Maybe he just wasn’t used to drinking and didn’t want to admit it in front of you. 

After a while he returned, a small bag in his hand. 

“What you got there?” you smiled, already knowing the answer. 

“Chocolate!” 

“Of course” you laughed “come on, let’s go”. 

You made your way down the finding path towards the garden, where artists from across the country had put on a display using string lights to create various christmas scenes. You walked, hand in hand with Tendou, past glittering shapes and glowing lights. One of the works was a small maze, the hedges draped with lights, making a tunnel of radiant gold. You and Tendou stepped inside, wandering through the ethereal stream. You reached up and tugged the hat off Tendous' head. He looked down at you, the question in his eyes. 

“I wanted to see your hair in this light, I thought it would be pretty”. 

“And is it?” 

“Always” you breathed, taken aback by how the red of his hair was deepened to the color of the wine you drank earlier, with the tips bathed in golden light, like a mountain being caressed by the first rays of the sun at dawn. 

You came to a stop at the center of the maze, where a small ring of water encircled small gazebo, covered in the tiny golden lights that had led you there. 

“Let’s take a picture!” Tendou exclaimed, dragging you across a bridge to the very center of the glowing circle. 

He stood up his phone on the railing, and grabbed the box of chocolate out of the bag. 

“Is the chocolate going to take the picture?” you teased. 

“You’ll see” he grinned impishly. 

You rolled your eyes, as Tendou came to stand next to you. 

“Close your eyes” he demanded. 

“But we’re about to take a picture!” 

“Just close themmmm” he whined. 

“Ok, ok, they’re closed”. 

You heard the lid come off the box of chocolate. Maybe he wanted to feed them to you? There was some more rustling and then you heard him take a deep breath. 

“You can open them now”. 

You opened your eyes to find him down, on one knee, a nervous and hopeful expression on his face, presenting you with the box of chocolates. You opened your mouth to ask him what was going on but he cut you off. 

“Y/N, words cannot express how glad I am that I met you. Before you came into my life, I thought I would be alone forever. Sure, I had the team, but I was searching for a connection that I realised only you could give to me. From the first day I saw you in the gym you’ve been making my heart skip a beat. Come to Japan and live with me, I want you to teach me English forever, as my wife. Will you marry me?” 

Tears pricked the corner of your eyes, blurring the lights surrounding you. You rubbed them away, and saw something glittering below you. Nestled, right at the center of the box, in a bed of velvet surrounded by chocolates were two rings. One was a simple band, holding a single diamond, the golden light reflecting off the edges. The other was the Claddagh ring you had been looking at earlier.

You knelt down in front of Tendou, just like that day two years ago, except this time tears were rolling down your face. You placed a tender hand on his cheek. 

“Of course I will, nothing would bring me more happiness”.

“I love you”. 

“I love you too”.

**Author's Note:**

> A Claddagh ring has significant meaning in Scottish Culture. It is traditionally Irish, and represents love, friendship and loyalty. The ring is comprised of two hands that hold a heart wearing a crown. The hands represent friendship, the heart love, and the crown, loyalty. The rings are cultural symbols of friendship, engagement and marriage.   
> The Edinburgh Christmas market is also a real place. I was born and raised in the UK, and have visited the markets. They truly are a magical place, and I encourage you to look up pictures to add to your enjoyment and visualization of the story.


End file.
